Energy, mobility, industrial solutions: Greaves Cotton's 3 growth pillars

Greaves.Next. Parag Satpute, managing director and group chief executive officer of Greaves Cotton, discusses the road map and the company's focus areas

More than 165-year-old diversified engineering major Greaves Cotton is undergoing a transformation through its future-focused business strategy, Greaves.Next. Parag Satpute, managing director and group chief executive officer of Greaves Cotton, discusses this road map and the company’s focus areas in an exclusive interview with Shine Jacob. Edited excerpts:

 

What is your Greaves.Next strategy? 

Over the past five to seven years, our company has been in transition. Back in 2016-17, we were largely dependent on a single product segment — the three-wheeler autorickshaw. We made a conscious decision to diversify and began investing in closer engagement with our customers, which led us into some business-to-consumer businesses.

 

We also invested in technologies beyond engine manufacturing, such as through our stake in Excel Controlinkage. The period from 2016 to 2025 was about diversification and building a solid foundation.

 

I spent the first three months working closely with the management team, the board, customers, and investors. The outcome of this work is Greaves.Next. The strategy positions us as a strong engineering technology company, which reflects across our products and customer relationships.

 

Our goal is to create long-term value by focusing on three areas: energy, mobility, and industrial solutions. We aim to evolve from a product-centric company into a solutions-oriented company.

 

How do you plan to achieve this?

  We are targeting organic growth of 16-20 per cent compound annual growth rate, while remaining open to acquisitions. As demonstrated in the past, our healthy balance sheet and management capabilities allow us to enter adjacent areas, acquire promising companies, integrate them, and unlock synergies that benefit the overall business.

 

Our core business currently generates revenue of around ₹2,500 crore. A 16-20 per cent growth over the next four to five years would effectively double this revenue.

 

How will you enhance the energy solutions business? Will you explore battery energy storage as well? 

Absolutely. Battery energy storage is an attractive segment, with a market size of around ₹14,000 crore in India, and opportunities beyond the country as well. We have been active in this space for several years, but the past two to three years have seen particularly strong growth — 25-30 per cent year-on-year — which gives us confidence in further building on that.

 

We have established a good product portfolio. The next step is maximising full customer lifetime value. For example, in the genset business, we don’t just sell a machine and walk away — we provide ongoing maintenance, spare parts, and support to ensure continuous operation. This is part of our shift from products to solutions.

 

We are building a comprehensive on-ground service and dealership network to serve customers throughout a product’s lifecycle.

 

The energy solutions space also includes emerging technologies like battery electric storage systems, which we are actively exploring through internal research and development and partnerships with select customers.

 

Do you have plans for exports in the energy sector?

  Currently, our exports in energy solutions have been tactical. Moving forward, we aim for a structured approach.

 

We are creating a dedicated international business management team, initially targeting West Asia and Africa, followed by Southeast Asia. These regions have a big need for alternative power, presenting opportunities to grow our business through partnerships.

 

You are well-known in the automotive segment. How does this transition affect your business dynamics? 

Historically, we were heavily dependent on automotive. Today, automotive forms a smaller portion of our portfolio, as our energy solutions business is growing rapidly. By 2029-30, energy solutions are projected to account for close to 40 per cent of total revenue, up from around 20 per cent today.

 

We continue to have a strong cash-generating automotive business. We remain the sole supplier to companies like Piaggio and Atul for three-wheelers and have recently expanded into four-wheelers. Recently we announced a partnership with European brand Ligier, supplying Euro 5+ engines for their microcars and quadricycles. The great thing about that is Europe is one of the most quality conscious and stringent in terms of regulation.